Darker Than Pure
by Emerald-demoness
Summary: Ryou calls to Bakura in their soulchamber, a place that they have never made contact. Why now? And what does Ryou's soulroom look like anyway? Is it as pure as he looks, or darker?
1. Chapter 1

There are no parings so far, and I would like to know if I should continue this story, or keep it as a oneshot.

Darker Than Pure

Bakura woke up in his soul room suddenly. Something had woken him, but what? 'Kura. . .' a voice sounding like a younger version of Ryou said. Bakura had never seen Ryou or his soulroom within the millennium ring. Why was he suddenly hearing him? Especially after the incident earlier!

He followed the voice to the locked door that he always assumed was Ryou's soulroom. He heard the lock click and slowly opened the door. The sight he saw surprised him. The carpet was dark gray and the walls black. There were things thrown about the room in disarray. There was even a bookshelf turned on its side.

There was a child version of Ryou sitting at the far end of the room. He was dressed in all white, a sharp contrast to the darkness surrounding him. The child seemed to be painting. Bakura looked around again, this time he saw paintings all around the room. They were mainly paintings of people he had met. He also noticed a small corner that wasn't in disarray. In it there was a bed and paintings of people Ryou considered friends.

He noticed that Ryou's father was among the paintings of people Ryou was scared of. The bullies that picked on Ryou, old and new, were surrounding his father. "I see you've noticed my paintings." The child said. Bakura looked back towards the child, noting the framed picture of what must have been Ryou's mother above him. He also noted that the glass was cracked.

"Ryou-kun has locked himself up in there." The child said pointing to one of the many doors in the room. "He's been there for awhile now, since he was nine I believe. I've taken over for him. Ryou has many personalities. Each is behind a different door. You met Defiance earlier; he doesn't come out often.

Over there is all the good things that have happened to Ryou." The child explained, pointing to the neat corner. "The rest is everything else." The child threw the painting he had been working on towards the corner, it landed just outside of the neat space, on the wall. It was a painting of Bakura.

"Ryou's father abused him after his mother died, that's why he's among the bullies. Ryou should be coming out soon, so I'll just go back to my 'personality room'. By the way, I'm Innocence. And don't be surprised if your painting moves. I have a feeling you and Ryou will get along very well."

When Ryou walked out of the room Innocence had pointed to earlier, he was different. He held himself more confidently. His overall personality was, darker. "So, you are the infamous Thief King that Innocence has told me about?" He asked, looking slightly amused.


	2. Chapter 2

Emerald-demoness: Well, I got five reviews, all of which asked for me to continue. I must say, five reviews in one night is inspiring to a new(ish) writer like me. Thank you, to those of you who reviewed (you know who you are!).So, I decided to continue my first chapter story. One thing I should tell you though, I am a rather slow writer, most of the time. If I abandon this story, it will be announced in an author's note, otherwise, it is just taking me awhile to get over the curse known as writer's block. Well, I've talked enough for now, on with the story!

Chapter Two

"Infamous? Well, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, even though I don't seem to be completely hated here." At this, Bakura inclined his head towards his picture.

"You _did_ protect me. Though, Innocence didn't appreciate your method, he liked the thought well enough. The collection of dolls you have gifted me with over the years is lovely by the way." Ryou smirked a little. Ryou walked out of the room, motioning for Bakura to follow him. Bakura scowled and muttered something about not being a dog, but followed him anyway. They walked into the soulchamber, which connected the soulrooms, and gave them a place to talk without being in either of their, rather unsettling, soulrooms.

The soulchamber looked like a rather elegant study. The floor was dark wood flooring, with a huge Egyptian styled rug in the middle of it. The comfortable looking couch was a deep, rich red. There was a mahogany coffee table slightly infront of the couch, so they could either set their feet there, or put something on it to make it easy to reach. There was a lit fireplace infront of the coffee table, giving light to the otherwise dark room. Full mahogany bookshelves lined the wall on either side of the fireplace, and there was a mahogany office desk in the right-hand corner of the room.

They sat down on the couch, Bakura with his feet propped up on the coffee table. "So why do you hate the pharaoh so much anyway? His father was the one who ordered your village destroyed. From what Sneak told me, Yami only retaliated to whatever you threw at him." Ryou asked.

"Sneak? Wait, you went into my memories!" Bakura exclaimed. "Well, it's not like we had much else to do when you took over my body. Which, by the way, is going to stop. We can look for a way to get you your own body, but you will _not_ take over mine without permission. Especially considering that I haven't really been in control of my own body for years. Now, can you answer my question?" Ryou explained calmly.

Bakura growled, but answered anyway. "It isn't like I could get back at the bastard who _really_ had my village destroyed; his son was the next best thing."

"Why not just kill the council? Surely they had to agree to such an act." Ryou retaliated. "I was a kid, I didn't think about that! By the time I could have realized that could have been done instead, I was practically driven insane by the vengeful spirits of my village!"

"Yeah, you did seem to get more and more insane as time went by . . ." Ryou commented. "Why the hell did you lock yourself up in your soulroom anyway!" Bakura asked him in retaliation. "I didn't. Innocence decided that I needed a break, and had one of the other personalities lock me up in my own little side-soulroom. I still haven't figured out who locked me up. One of the few things I had to do in there was read, so I did. A lot. Somehow the room seemed to know what I wanted to read about and supplied books on that subject."

They sat in silence for a minute before Bakura, finally admitting to himself that he was curious, asked "So, What happens to your personalities now that you're out?"

"Most of them will be 'reabsorbed' into me. Though, there is a possibility that some will stay and I'll end up with Multi Personality Disorder. Yet another thing to add to my _father's_ black list. Joy." Bakura growled at the end of Ryou's explanation. Ryou raised an eyebrow at him in question. "I hate child abuse." Bakura explained, "Its one thing to kill a kid, but to make them suffer is despicable." Ryou nodded, not in agreement, but in understanding.

They sat in silence for awhile before Ryou said, "Well, I think it's time for me to get used to being in control of my body again. I wonder how the others will react to my personality change. . ." Ryou's image faded, before disappearing completely. 'Well,' Bakura thought to himself, 'I have a feeling things are about to get very interesting.'


	3. Chapter 3

Emerald-demoness: Okay, I have a few more questions for my lovely readers. There will be romance in this story. Should it be yaoi or not? I'll warn you now though, if it isn't yaoi, most pairings will be with oc's. (Yugi will _not_ end up with Tea, if I have my way, she will die or something.).

If it is yaoi, what should the pairings be? Yamis and Hikaris, or something else? Also, this will be a Tea bashing story, so what should happen with her? Should Yugi finally find out she's a bitch on his own, or should the new and 'improved' Ryou point it out to him? Should she become a 'side enemy' or just be sent to the shadow realm by one of the Yamis?

Anyway, those are all the major plot holes I have right now, so let me know what you think in a review, and I will do my best to make everyone happy. Now, on with the story!

"Talking"

'Yami-Hikari speak or thoughts'

Chapter 3

The first thing Ryou did when he was finally in control of his body again, besides falling when he tried to stand, was get something to eat. Naturally, life can not be so simple. As soon as he sat down to eat, his so-called father walked in the door. This isn't to say he wasn't happy to see his father though. He was _ecstatic_.

"Hello, _father._ How _nice_ it is too see you again." Ryou said sarcastically, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He felt Bakura wake up in the back of his mind.

"What do you want, murderer?" his father sneered at him. Ryou heard Bakura growling.

"_I'm_ the murderer? Ha! Mother may have died because she gave birth to me, but _you're_ the one who got her pregnant, you hypocritical asshole!" He felt Bakura's confusion through the link. 'I'll explain later' He told him.

"How dare you talk to me like that, scum! Your mother-"

"My mother _specifically_ told you _not_ to blame me for her death! Don't you remember that, father _dearest_? After all, it was only the night she died in the hospital!"

"You killed her!"

"I was fucking _six_!" Ryou shouted, standing up from his position against the wall, his arms at his sides and his fists clenched. "Just how the hell do you sleep at night, telling a six-year-old that it's _their_ fault their mother died?"

"You have no right to talk to me like-"

"I can talk to you however I want, old man! You may send me checks to get by, barely, while you're out with your precious digs, but you are _not_ my father! A father cares for his child, loves them, and raises them. They certainly _do not_ throw them down the stairs in a drunken rage or call them a murderer!"

"How dare you! How dare you talk to me like that when I have put up with your disgraceful presence and gave you everything you need to live a comfortable life?"

"_Put up with my presence? Comfortable life! Ha!_ Now that's just the _funniest_ joke I've heard all day. How can you 'put up with my presence' when your never here! And how can this life," here Ryou gestured around him, to the house that had no personality, gave no comfort, and only had the bare necessities, "possibly be called _comfortable_ compared to your life.

You have a life consisting of five star hotels, expensive cars, rich restaurants, tons of useless but expensive trinkets and _obviously_ no child. Not to mention how much money I know you have to spare since you have _me _pay the bills with the money sent to me, only leaving me with the leftovers that are barely enough to pay for my food, clothes, and bathing necessities. Oh yes, I live _such_ a comfortable life when compared to yours!"

"That is enough! Go to your room!" His father yelled at him.

"Or what, are you going to start beating me again, like you did when I was six? Or are you going to throw me into a mirror again, like the time that you gave me the scars on my back? Or maybe-"

Ryou was interrupted by his father slamming him against the wall, with his hand around his neck. Ryou instinctively shut up. 'I don't fucking think so!' he heard Bakura shout through the link. Next thing he knew he was beside his body in spirit form and Bakura was kneeing his father in the stomach.

Ryou saw his father bend over Bakura's knee, about to throw up whatever he ate that day, right before Bakura gave him an uppercut that sent him flying a few feet away. When his father didn't get up, he knew he was knocked unconscious.

"Bakura, didn't I tell you not to take over my body without permission?" Ryou asked him turning away from his father.

"Who cares? I'm giving it back." Bakura replied.

"That's really not the point. . ." Ryou trailed off, shaking his head. "Ah, whatever. Thanks for that." He continued, nodding towards his father.

They switched before Bakura asked "So why does your _father_ call you a murderer?"

"My mother had a disease; I don't remember what it was called. It basically made it to where she couldn't have children without dieing." Ryou explained.

"She had you." Bakura pointed out.

"Exactly. That's why she died. It took longer than the doctors expected, but she did die because she had me. Of course, father, being the hypocritical bastard he is, decided I was to blame."

They didn't talk after that and Ryou finished his now cold dinner. He sighed when he realized that his father would likely wake up pissed. He called Yugi, with Bakura yelling in the background that he didn't want to go to the pharaoh's house.

'Oh, hush, it's not even the pharaoh's house, it's Yugi's. Well, Yugi's Grandpa's.' Ryou told him while the phone was ringing.

'Oh yeah, cause that makes a _huge_ fucking difference!' His yami said sarcastically.

'Yami.'

'What!'

'Please shut up.' Ryou told him, instantly blocking him, and his rant, out.

"Hello" Yugi's voice said over the phone.

"Oh, hello Yugi, it's Ryou. I was wondering. . ."

_Time Skip_

Ryou walked down the street, a bag over his shoulder, ignoring his yami for all he was worth. When he reached the Kame Game Shop, he calmly knocked on the door. Quite a feat with Bakura yelling at you. The door opened, showing Yugi with an amazing bed head and tired looking eyes.

"Sorry for waking you, Yugi-" Ryou started before Yugi interrupted him.

"No, no, it's fine, really! I fell asleep really early anyway. I can understand you wanting to get away from your father if what you told me is anything to go by. But Ryou, why didn't you tell us before?"

"It will take a long time to explain."

"I've got plenty of time." Yugi told him, finally seeming fully awake.

"I'd rather tell everyone at the same time, so I don't have to explain more than once." Ryou told him.

"Okay, I think I can get everyone here by tomorrow." Yugi said, leading him up to the guest bedroom.

"That sounds great. . ."

Ryou and Yugi both went to bed, one anxious, one worried. Though, admittedly, Ryou did have to yell at Bakura to shut up before he could sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Emerald-demoness: Okay, I really, really need more than one vote on whether the parings should be yaoi, or not. And if yaoi, whoxwho. So if you could please do me a huge favor and tell me what you think, it would be much appreciated. And now, on to the story!

Chapter Four

Ryou jerked awake, instinctively flinching away from his yami's touch. He looked at his surroundings and sarcastically thought 'Yeah, my soulroom is the _perfect_ place to wake up after a nightmare. . .'

"You were having a nightmare" Ryou visibly bit back a comment at this "since you woke me up; I decided to wake you up." Bakura explained.

'So sorry my nightmare is such an inconvenience. . .' Ryou thought, still sarcastic.

"Ryou, you're projecting." Bakura told him.

"I don't really give a damn right now. If you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep." Ryou grumbled.

"Ryou?" Bakura started

"What?" Ryou asked him, irritably.

"What exactly _did_ your father do to you?"

Ryou sighed. "There should be a black, untitled book laying around here somewhere. It holds my memories. Knock yourself out, just be quiet and leave me alone."

"You're a real bitch when you're tired, you know that?" Bakura commented.

"Bakura. Shut up, and let me sleep. I'll be less _bitchy, _as you put it, later." Ryou told him. He rolled over to sleep, only stirring at the occasional growl from Bakura.

_Time Skip _

Thankfully for Yugi, Ryou was in a better mood when he woke him up the next morning. They ate breakfast and waited for the others to get there.

When everyone but Tea, and Mokuba and Kaiba but that was expected, was there, Ryou started his explanation.

"I'm . . . not who you think I am. Okay, I am, but my personality isn't the same. You've . . . never really known me. You've known a part of me, but . . . Dammit! This is just confusing you."

'Just be blunt, Hikari.' He heard Bakura tell him through the link.

Ryou sighed before continuing. "When I was nine, I locked myself in part of my soul room. One of my 'personalities' took control in my place. I only came back out last night."

'I thought you said _you_ didn't lock yourself in the soulroom.' Bakura commented, once again through the link.

'Well, technically, my other personalities _are_ me, just not a constant part.' He told him.

"Wait, personalities? What do ya mean by that?" Joey asked.

"For some reason, some of my traits separated from me, long before I was nine. I know more have separated since I was nine too. From what I know, I should 'reabsorb' them when I'm ready too." Ryou explained.

"So what traits separated? And _why_ did you lock yourself in your soulroom?" Tristan asked him.

"The traits that separated from me are; Sneak, Defiance, Innocence, Hope, Trust, Affection, and *sigh* Love. One of them decided that I needed a break and locked me in a 'side-soulroom'." Ryou answered.

"Sounds like all the good traits and some of the bad separated." Yugi commented.

"Considering all that was left was a cold-hearted, sarcastic, untrusting, pessimistic bastard was left behind, yeah, that sounds about right." Ryou said.

"You don't seem all that bad too me." Duke told him.

"I was using my _father's_ words, so they may be a bit biased." Ryou commented. "Well, that, and I've reabsorbed Hope."

"So what is going on between you and your father? You don't seem too fond of him right now." Tristan asked.

Bakura took over and managed to say "His father is an abusive bastard-" before Ryou got control back.

"Bakura! I've told you at least three times now! You will not take over my body without asking!" Ryou said to what seemed, to everyone else, to be thin air. He waited a few seconds before saying-

"Dammit! Just use your shadow powers to let the others see you in spirit form! (A pause) I don't care it's tiring! I am not going to be your fucking messenger!" He continued telling the air.

"Fine, fine, just calm down." Bakura told him, gradually becoming visible to the others.

"Since when can Yamis do that?" Tristan asked. "They've always been able too, though Marik's Yami may have been an exception." Ryou said.

"Then why . . .?" Yugi trailed off as Ryou held up a hand to silence him.

"Yamis instinctually protect the Hikaris; even Marik's did in the beginning. Yamis can teach Hikaris to use shadow magic, but it's dangerous. Because it's dangerous for the Hikaris to learn, the Yamis usually tend to only use shadow magic when necessary." Ryou explained while Yami appeared in the same manner as Bakura.

"How do you know all this?" Duke asked him.

"Sneak looked into Spirit's memories regarding what he knew of shadow magic." Ryou explained, laughing nervously as Bakura shot him a dirty look and started muttering about memories being private.

"Since when has the thief protected you?" Yami asked skeptically.

"He's always protected me. Just, more like you protected Yugi at the beginning. We never got to bond like you two did; I think it has something to do with him only knowing about a part of me at the time." Ryou explained. Yami only nodded in acceptance.

Bakura suddenly looked up and said "By the way, Hikari, why are there gaps in you memories?" Everyone looked startled at this.

"Those are my memories of the 'splits' and the circumstances around them." Ryou told him. Everyone gave him a look telling him to explain.

"*Sigh*, I didn't have much to do while I was locked up but think and read. And talk to my other personalities." Bakura held up a hand to stop him at this point.

"I thought your split personalities were locked in their own rooms when they weren't out."

"My room was connected to all of theirs, so I could go see them, and if I let them, they could come see me. Anyway, I couldn't see what was happening with my own body, so I found out by asking the personalities that could, Innocence, Love, Affection, and Sneak. I mainly talked to Sneak since he wasn't as touchy-feely as Love and Affection.

While Sneak couldn't show me memories like Innocence could, and Innocence was out so often that I couldn't find the time to ask, he did eventually find me a little black scrap book with my memories in it where pictures should be. He gave it too me, and I could finally find out what was going on. This happened when I was twelve. It took me a year of constantly viewing my memories to see if I could find out what caused me to split my personalities off that I realized there were gaps in my memory. It didn't take long to figure out why they were there.

When I asked the other personalities why I was missing the memories of their creation, they all said the same thing. I wasn't ready. I wouldn't be ready until I reabsorbed them. I never truly understood until I reabsorbed Hope and got his memory of the split and meeting the others that came after him. . ." Ryou trailed off, a glazed look on his face.

"Ryou?" Yugi asked worriedly. "What happened? Why did you split with Hope?" He asked when Ryou looked up.

Ryou took a deep breath and tell his memory of the night he split with Hope, in a scarily monotonous voice.

_Flashback_

_ Ryou was eight, his father had just come home drunk again. He was taking a shower when his father stormed in and dragged him out by his hair. He was thrown down the stairs, breaking his arm on the way down. _

_ "You worthless whore! This is all your fault! If it wasn't for you, my wife would be alive and well! But she's dead! All because of you!" His father continued yelling at him and beating him. Ryou was screaming that he was sorry, yelling apologies over and over, begging him to stop. _

_ He fell silent, still shaking with sobs as his father continued to beat him. His father told him that no one would save him. Nobody cared. Not even his mother cared. Nobody._

_ Ryou felt something inside him snap, right before he passed out._

When Ryou stopped talking, he was surprised to find Yugi hugging him. He looked up to see Joey, Tristan, and Duke seething. Yami, Bakura, and Marik looked like they were scheming. Ishizu was pale and Odion looked sad. He smiled slightly and thought, 'My dysfunctional family. . .' and then, everything went black.

"Ryou!"


	5. Chapter 5

Emerald-demoness: Okay, I don't think I'll get many more votes so this is the final poll.

Yaoi: 3

Non-yaoi: 1

What I'm going to do is put Marik with an O.C. girl since his yami is truly stuck in the shadow realm in my story. Ryou will be with Bakura and Yugi will be with Yami. I'll keep the romance non-graphic. Anyway, on with the story!

Chapter Five

_Flashback_

_ Ryou was eleven. Innocence had brought home a starving puppy. He knew he couldn't keep it, but maybe he could sell it to a loving family for money. He looked up, startled, when the door was opened. He tried to hide the puppy, but his father walked in too soon. One look at the puppy was all his father needed to go on another rampage. _

_ "How dare you bring such filth into my house!" His father screamed at him. _

_ "But father, it's just a puppy! It was starving and I thought I could-" His father cut him off._

_ "I don't give a fuck if it was starving! You will never bring another animal in my house again!" His father yelled at him before picking the poor puppy up by its neck and throwing it against the wall. Ryou flinched when he heard yelp, followed by a snap. The puppy lay still. Ryou started crying, and his father started beating him. _

_ 'I thought I could at least be helpful to the animals I like so much . . . but all I did was get it killed. Will this happen to everything I like?' Ryou thought, right before the memory went dark, he felt another snap._

_Flashback_

_ Affection left his room, as did Sneak, Defiance, Hope, and Trust. Ryou was sleeping in his room, as he always was during a split. They sat on the bed in the neat corner of his soulroom, waiting. Sure enough, another door appeared._

_ The door opened to reveal the newest personality, Love. He was bruised and bleeding, just like all of them were in the beginning. He was also limping, just like Innocence had. Unlike the others though, there were no special circumstances that lead to the creation of Love. Ryou just couldn't feel that emotion anymore._

Ryou snapped awake, sitting up quickly. He was in Yugi's room, his mind told him quickly. After a few seconds, he realized that everyone was in the room, even Kaiba and Mokuba. "What-?" He started to ask before Yugi interrupted him.

"You passed out, we brought you up here and had Kaiba's personal doctor come over. You were out for about an hour." He told him, worried.

"What happened Ryou? Why'd you pass out?" Tristan asked.

"I-" Ryou paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I reabsorbed Affection."

"What made you split? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Yugi asked/told him.

"I think I'll wait awhile. But, I think I reabsorbed him because I _felt_ affection again. . ." Ryou said.

Bakura nodded and said "I believe I remember hearing you thinking something about family right before you passed out. Since I doubt you were thinking about your father, it makes sense."

Ryou blushed and looked down.

"Aww! We love you too!" Joey and Tristan joked. Ryou just laughed slightly.

"Ryou, when Affection saw Love . . ." Bakura trailed off as Ryou paled.

"I'd really rather not think about that right now, if you don't mind." Ryou told him. Bakura just nodded.

"Anyway, you're welcome to stay here until your father's gone, and you can come over to avoid him when he comes back." Yugi told him.

Ryou smiled and joked "Great, now I just have to have Bakura knock him out when he comes over unannounced!"

Anyone who wasn't staying over, meaning everyone but Yugi and Ryou, left. Yugi and Ryou basically spent the day playing duel monsters (without the Yamis) and watching TV. Yugi got to know the real Ryou, and found that he had trust issues, and was more confident, but other than that he was just darker, no longer innocent.

While they were bonding, Bakura was going over the memories Ryou got when he absorbed Affection. He knew Ryou was trying not to think about the implications of the last memory. He also knew that it would eventually come back and bite Ryou on the ass. Like when he gets Love's memories and can't deny it.  
'Why did I have to get the emotionally wrecked?' Bakura asked himself. Then he looked at the other two candidates and grimaced. 'Never mind, Ryou is perfectly fine compared to psycho and friendship-midget.'

'Now, how the hell am I going to help my hikari deal with this?'

That night Ryou had another nightmare. It was a mix of his past fear of getting everyone/thing he cared for hurt and his current fear of what happened to Love. When he woke up, Bakura was there. They were in the sitting room, on the couch with Ryou's head in Bakura's lap.

"I didn't think you'd want to wake up in your soulroom." Bakura told him.

Ryou just sat himself in Bakura's lap, hugging him while silently crying. Bakura was startled at first, but relaxed and did his best to comfort his hikari. They were like that until Ryou fell back asleep.

Ryou had bags under his eyes the next day. He knew Yugi was concerned, he also knew that Yugi knew, mostly, what happened. The nightmare wasn't what was bothering him that day.

'Why? Why the hell do I trust him?' Ryou kept asking himself. 'I can't trust anybody! I know that! So why do I trust _him_? He'll just betray me! Won't he?'

He was careful to block his thoughts that day, not wanting another opinion. Not wanting the topic of his inner conflict to know what he was going through.

*Yugi's POV*

'Yami?' Yugi asked through the link. 'Yes?' Yami replied.

'What do you think is up with Ryou? I don't think it's the memories he got yesterday.' Yugi asked.

'I really don't know aibou. It's probably something we don't know about. He hasn't really given us too many details. He doesn't trust anyone fully because of what his father put him through.' Yami stated.

'I'm really worried, he looks so . . . troubled.' Yugi said. 'I know aibou. The best we can do is be there for him when he needs us.' Yami told him.

*Normal POV*

Ryou went home that night, thankfully his father was gone. He went to bed as soon as he had eaten and taken a shower. He had a nightmare again. He was comforted by Bakura, again. He was conflicted the next day. Again.

'Ryou? What's wrong?' He heard his yami ask him. He cringed. He was forcefully pulled into the soulchamber.

Bakura was sitting on the couch, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well?" he asked him.

Ryou was silent. He went to the opposite side of the couch and sat down. "You'll slip up eventually. It will be easier if you just tell me what's wrong now." Bakura told him, watching his every move.

Ryou still didn't say anything. He had an idea of why he trusted Bakura, but he didn't like it. Trusting someone was dangerous. Even more so if they hadn't proved themselves.

'But didn't he already prove himself?' a little voice in the back of his mind, which he suspected was Trust himself, asked.

'Hasn't he kept the bullies away? Didn't he keep your father away? Didn't he protect you at the tournament?' the voice asked, without mercy.

'He put me in the situation at the tournament!' He protested weakly.

'But he still protected you. That's more than I can say for your father.' The voice countered.

Ryou snapped and rounded on Bakura. "Why the hell do I trust you!"


	6. Chapter 5, part 2

Emerald-demoness: Okay, this really should have been part of chapter five, but I'm experiencing a lot of author's block. It doesn't help that I'm mostly making this up as I go. School is about to start to, so I may be updating even slower. I'll stop talking so you can read now. . .

Chapter 5, part 2

Bakura looked surprised, before his gaze softened into one of understanding. "Ryou, Hikari and Yami are basically two halves of one soul. It's almost impossible for you _not_ to trust me. Even Innocence trusted me. He didn't like me, but he trusted me." Bakura tried to explain.

Ryou curled up, using the armrest as a pillow. "It isn't safe. Trusting someone only gets you hurt." He mumbled.

Bakura stared in shock. He knew his Hikari would have trust issues, but . . . 'How dare that pathetic excuse for a person do this to _my_ Hikari!' he thought viciously.

"What about friendship-midget and his friends? You trust them." He pointed out to his Hikari.

"Iie. I may trust them more than others, but I still only trust them to a point. Bakura, I haven't _trusted_ anyone since my seventh birthday." Ryou told him.

Bakura shook his head sadly and picked Ryou up, heading towards his own room. Ryou stiffened, before relaxing, before stiffening again. Bakura knew he was fighting his own instincts. His instincts told him he was safe, but his mind, and experience, told him otherwise.

'I will make that bastard pay for what he has done. I will make him beg for death before I'm through with him!' Bakura thought, already plotting.

"I'll take over for today, get some rest." Bakura told Ryou calmly, showing no sign of his internal wrath. Ryou, losing the fight with his instincts, simply nodded, falling asleep in Bakura's arms.

Ryou was put in Bakura's soulroom, while Bakura went to Ryou's. The room looked as dreadful as ever, unsurprisingly. He stood in the center of the room before saying calmly,

"Innocence, we need to talk."

He hear a light giggling on his right, and turned to see Innocence leaning against the wall, the others flanking him.

"I knew you would come. We only kept Ryou from noticing, not you." Innocence told him.

"So you know why I'm here." Bakura stated, crossing his arms and waiting.

"You wish to know about Ryou's other memory gaps. The one's he hasn't noticed and why we kept them from him." Innocence said, not a single hint of question in his statement. Bakura nodded.

"Ryou cannot handle those memories. He won't be able too until he merges with me." Innocence said.

"What are the memories about?" Bakura demanded.

"You already know, you just don't want it to be true." Innocence told him.

Bakura looked away, a pained expression on his face. Then it changed, and pure fury radiated from him. He looked at the personalities gathered, the sadistic gleam in his blood red eyes startling most of them.

"I trust that none of you will have a problem with a death in the family." He stated, knowing now that, although death was far too kind for that despicable human, Ryou's father must die. Painfully. With torture devices, fire, and the shadow realm included. Not to mention the ideas the others would have.

He left without an answer, not expecting one. A few minutes later and Ryou was lying on the bed in his own soulroom, sleeping semi-peacefully, unaware of the plotting going on within his own soul.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next night, Bakura called the others over while Ryou was asleep. He had gotten permission to use Ryou's body while he was asleep, as long as he didn't do anything to get Ryou in trouble. Even Kaiba had decided to come after Bakura's slightly sarcastic greeting over the phone _"I need to get revenge on a certain someone who is not the pharaoh. I would appreciate your expertise on the subject. . ."_

And so, Bakura, Yugi, Yami, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Marik, Ishizu, Odion, and Kaiba sat in Ryou's living room.

"So, you mentioned revenge? Let's hear it then!" Marik said, admittedly a little too excited over the coming bloodshed.

"To form a proper revenge, you need to know the circumstances first." Bakura stated, halting Marik in his tracks.

"But we already know the circumstances. Ryou's father abused him." Duke said, confused.

"Yes, and no." Bakura said, noting the confused looks still on everyone's faces. "There is more too it. Ryou's other personalities made sure he didn't notice exactly how many memory blanks there were. It was a lot more than seven."

"Then what happened?" Yugi asked him, looking worried.

"Here's a hint: how does someone loose their innocence?" Bakura told them.

"Well there are a lot of things; war, poverty, sex . . . oh no. Tell me his father didn't -"

"He did." Bakura interrupted Yami. Those in the room looked either devastated (Yugi and Ishizu) or pissed (everyone else).

"That son of a fucking bitch! I'm going to tear out his spleen and shove it right up his ass! Then I'm going to rip out his tongue and gouge out his eyes before pouring salt on his wounds! . . ." Marik just kept on ranting. It took him about five minutes to calm down, and even then it was only because Odion pointed out the absolutely murderous gleam in Bakura's eyes.

Of course, Odion didn't have to point out the looks of everyone else after that. Even Yugi looked ready to commit some serious homicide. With pain involved. Lots of it.

"So, now that everyone is riled up, what should we do to this pathetic excuse for a human? I will warn you now; there will be no mercy killing. He will die from pain and fear, not because we were too tired to see his dieing through properly." Bakura told them.

"We should . . .

Bakura walked into Ryou's soulroom only too see him laying on the bed, awake, listening to a melody coming from a small gold locket. (1) His eyes shifted to rest on Bakura.

"It was my mother's." he told him in answer to his questioning gaze.

"Why haven't I seen it around? Surely you would keep something like that." Bakura asked him. Ryou gave a slightly insane giggle.

"Why, father destroyed it in another drunken rampage of course!" Ryou half exclaimed, half cried. Bakura knew he was trying to distance himself from the incident. Ryou gave that same tittering laugh as Bakura pulled him into his arms. The song coming from the locket twisted into a darker, more haunting version of the melody, echoing in the room.(2)

"Ryou!" Yugi exclaimed happily, opening the door the rest of the way. "How is everything?" Yugi asked him, meaning 'is it your father again?'

"Everything is well, all things considered." Ryou told him, smiling slightly. They walked into Yugi's bedroom. Tristan, Joey, Tea, and Marik were there. "Hello everyone." Ryou greeted. Tea glared at him.

'Oh, get over yourself, you self-righteous bitch.' Ryou thought. He felt his yami agreeing with him.

"What is he doing here?" Tea demanded.

"Tea, we've been over this before. Things have changed. Bakura stopped being an evil bastard two weeks ago." Tristan reminded her, looking slightly annoyed. Hmm, Joey looked annoyed too. Marik just looked pissed. Yugi, of course, was oblivious.

'My, my, do I sense some Tea hatred going on?' Bakura asked, almost making Ryou laugh out loud. Instead he sent his amusement through the link.

"I don't care if he's changed; he's tried to kill us far too many times!" Tea exclaimed. Ryou snorted, cutting of Marik's remark before he even started it.

"Well, I see someone's being a bit more bitchy than usual." Ryou commented snidely.

"Why you-" Tea started, standing up.

"What? Can't handle criticism? I'm merely stating a fact. Your life consists of ogling Yugi or Yami, whichever one happens to be out at the time, and complaining or making friendship speeches that you don't even believe. It's quite disgusting actually. You truly are a _useless_ creature." Ryou said, satisfied with the horrified look on Tea's face. He didn't miss the look of absolute joy on Tristan, Joey, and Marik's faces, either.

"_I'm_ useless? I'm not the one who let my father abuse me!" Tea yelled at him.

Everyone's faces went cold. It was this moment in time in which Tea realized that maybe opening her mouth wasn't such a good idea. Ryou gave that cold, tittering laugh that Bakura alone had heard in the safety of his soulroom during Ryou's less sane moments. It made Tea's heart freeze over.

"Tea, get out." Yugi told her, his voice the coldest anyone had ever heard it. It left the others in the room wondering if perhaps Bakura and Yami had taken over for the time being. Then they realized nothing had changed, so it really was Ryou and Yugi.

"But Yugi-" Tea pleaded.

"Out." Yugi commanded. Tea paled and left, crying.

"Hmm. Perhaps I _will_ let Bakura throw her into the Shadow Realm." Ryou commented, revealing just how angry he was at what Tea said.

"On the plus side, you channeled some pharaoh-ness without Yami's help! Isn't it wonderful?" Ryou exclaimed, shoving his dark thoughts away and becoming overly cheerful. The others looked at him suspiciously, but went along with it.

"Yeah! Maybe you won't need the Pharaoh to convince everyone to do what you tell them too all the time now!" Joey teased, grinning at Yugi's obvious embarrassment. They all settled down, Yugi and Joey sat on the bed, Tristan sat on a bean bag in the room, and Marik and Ryou settled down on the floor.

"Yami?" Yugi called. Yami appeared beside him. The others waited for Bakura to appear, as he usually did.

"He's not here." Ryou said, slightly confused.

'Bakura? Where are you?' he asked his Yami through the bond.

'I'm in the Shadow Realm, don't worry, I'll be back soon hikari.' Bakura answered him. Ryou shrugged, taking it in stride, like he seemed to with everything lately.

"He's visiting the Shadow Realm. It feels like he's looking for something." Ryou answered the silent questions directed at him. They still looked slightly confused, but Ryou really couldn't explain it any better.

"Have you got any leads on how to get the Yamis their own bodies?" Ryou asked Yugi and Yami. Yugi sighed.

"No, I'm beginning to wonder if there is a way." Yugi admitted.

"Well it has only been a week since we've started searching. Most of your adventures go relatively fast, but this one is different Yugi. You can't expect someone to jump out of nowhere and yell that they know how to give spirits bodies." Ryou told him.

"I know, it's just . . ." Yugi trailed off.

"You're impatient, or eager. Take your pick. It's understandable." Ryou said. Yami tilted his head like he was listening to something, before shaking it slightly to clear it. When asked about it he said that it wasn't important. Nobody believed him, but they left him alone.

When Bakura came back a few minutes later, he dropped a little gold locket on Ryou's lap. Ryou, startled, looked at his lap. Slowly, he picked it up. When he opened it, it played the same melody that his mothers locket had. He turned to stare at Bakura in shock.

"What? It's nothing special." Bakura said, turning away, blushing slightly. He only blushed more when he saw Yami's knowing smirk.

"You go to the Shadow Realm to recreate my mother's locket for me, and you call it nothing special?" Ryou asked him, sounding both amused and touched. Bakura just snorted and disappeared again.

"He actually risked seeing the Dark Magician to get that locket." Yami commented absently. Ryou smiled and shakily closed the locket, before putting it on. No one mentioned it after that.

"Perhaps we should ask the other item holders for help in searching for a way to get them their own bodies . . ."

Emerald-demoness: Finally! I thought I was never going to finish this chapter. I suppose what I really need to do is sit down and figure out my plot, otherwise it will just end up being a mess. Anyway, this chapter has two purposes; one, being a filler, two, my first ever romance-like scene! I know it isn't actually romance, but this is definitely what will start Bakura and Ryou's future romance. I am sorry about the slow updating, but unfortunately it can't really be helped. So, I hope you liked it, and any ideas are welcome!

1) I thought of "Lacie" from Pandora Hearts for the tune.

Also, does anyone know why my dividers refuse to work?


	8. Chapter 8

Emerald-demoness: Yay! I updated! I'm sorry it took so long to update. Honestly, I completely forgot about this story for awhile. I had absolutely no clue what to do with it, so I decided to add in the OC I was thinking about. I'm sorry it's so short, I'll try to update sooner this time.

Chapter 7

"**Yugi!"** The yell came from Grandpa, who was down stairs in the shop. Everyone immediately got up and rushed down, Yugi in the front. They had to stop suddenly or run Yugi over. He just stood there, staring in shock. Then again, everyone else was shocked too when they looked at what he was staring at.

There was a girl, about 5ft 10in tall. Her skin was pale, her clothes hung off her. She wore a long sleeved, purple shirt and tight, dark jeans. Her almost knee high boots were flat and black. What caught their attention the most though, was her red-tinted black hair and her violet eyes, with the scar running from her right eyebrow to her right cheekbone.

"Zira?" Yugi asked, sounding uncertain and shocked. The girl turned away from Grandpa and looked at Yugi. Her eyes were oddly blank.

"Yugi. I am sorry it took me so long to come back." The girl said, sounding regretful. Her voice was soft and deep for a girl.

"Zira!" Yugi yelled, before running up and hugging her. She only barely managed to stay standing.

"I can't believe you're here! We thought you were dead!" Yugi shouted happily. Her emotionless eyes turned soft and loving.

"I'm sorry I worried you so. It's so good to see you again, little brother." She said. (That was such a wonderful cliffhanger moment . . .).

"Come, Zira, let's sit down in the living room. We have much to talk about." Grandpa said, turning the sign in the window so it said 'Closed'.

They all went to the living room where Yugi introduced Zira to his friends; Ryou, Marik, Odion, Ishizu, Mai, Duke, Tristan, and Joey. Then he explained to his friends how Zira was going abroad for college, going to Spain, when she disappeared. That was four years ago. Then he looked at his sister for an explanation.

She told them how she was kidnapped. There had been others, both boy and girl. They were tortured, raped, beaten. In the end they were to be killed, as a sacrifice for some god. Here she hesitated, before telling them of her escape. How she had to trick the key holder into thinking she wanted to have sex with him, before knocking him out and stealing the keys. How she snuck out while the person before her was being sacrificed, leaving everyone to fend for themselves once she opened their doors.

Then she told them that that was two years ago. They had been following her, and she wouldn't let them hurt the only family she had left because she led them right to their doorstep. She'd had to hunt down every single one of the people who captured and tortured her, only to kill them. To ensure her family's safety.

At the end of her tale, she glared at them defiantly. Daring them to judge her for what she had to do. But they didn't. Yugi hugged her and told her how glad he was that she was back. He babbled that it didn't matter what she did, she was still his sister. Grandpa merely smiled and told her that she did a good job. Not a single person in the room judged her, and for that, she was thankful.

Then Yugi told her their story. He told her about the Millennium items. How he met the pharaoh after Grandpa's soul was stolen. How he helped Marik defeat his evil side at Kaiba's tournament. About the final battle. He told how Ryou's yami had always been in the way. He told her about Kaiba's mood swings and Joey's tantrums. He told her about meeting Duke and Mai. He told her about how the pharaoh refused to leave him, and how he, Yugi, begged for Bakura's right to live, even after all he had done, simply because it wasn't his fault. He told her, at Ryou's nod, about Ryou's father and just recently learning about his other personalities.

During Yugi's story, the Yami's appeared in their corporal form. She studied them curiously, and with all the over protectiveness of an older sibling. The last one was done only when Yugi wasn't looking, which amused everyone greatly. When Yugi finished his story, his sister simply told him,

"Well, your last years haven't been boring." This made everyone laugh, having never really thought about it that way before.

"I don't suppose you still have my piano?" She asked after awhile.

"Actually, we do. I keep it out in the back of the shop so no one messes with it." Grandpa said, before showing her to it. Her eyes lit up the second she saw it.

'I swear she loves that thing more than she does me.' Yugi told Yami through their link.

Yami laughed before telling him just how untrue that statement was by showing him the looks his sister gave him behind her brother's back. All of this happened in the link they shared.

Zira immediately sat at the piano and started playing "Hijo de la Luna", singing along with it. Her voice was amazing. It was soft and lilting, with no Japanese accent to make it hard to understand her when she sung in another language. It was obvious why she had planned to go to Spain for college, her Spanish was perfect.

In the end everyone decided to stay at Marik's house to give Zira and Grandpa time alone to talk about serious things. Like a job.

"She was going to college to sing, but I don't think she can now. Not with that scar on her face. No company would hire her to sing." Yugi told them sadly.

"It really is a shame; she has such a good voice." Mai commented.

"Stupid, perfect lookin' celebrities." Joey grouched, irritated that someone with such obvious talent wouldn't be allowed to do what they loved simply because they didn't look good enough. It was like someone telling Yugi he couldn't play duel monsters because he was too short!

"They wouldn't let her travel like she'd have too anyway. Did you notice how many weapons she had on her?" Marik asked.

"I counted three." Yugi told him.

"Really? I only noticed one!" Tristan exclaimed.

"She had daggers, on her arms; I only realized they were there because she hugged me." Yugi told him.

"She had a gun in each boot, a dagger at the small of her back, and two daggers on each arm, upper and lower." Bakura told them.

"How could you tell all that!" Duke asked him.

"I had to know how to see hidden weapons when I was the Thief King." Bakura told him nonchalantly. It was silent for a few minutes before-

"Yugi, you can't kill them. They are already dead." Yami told him, looking half amused and half concerned.

"What?" Tristan asked him, confused.

"His protective brother instincts were rising." Yami told him, completely amused now.

"And why are they just showing up now?" Marik asked them.

"They didn't. They only became more pronounced." Yami told him.

"And what was he thinking that made you say that?" Duke asked, wondering just how vicious a vindictive Yugi could be. It was _Yugi_, after all. He was about as vicious as a kitten with its claws taken out.

"He just got to the part where burning them alive would be too kind." Yami said, sounding bemused. Every stared as if saying 'Okay, tell the truth now.' When Yami didn't say anything, they turned to stare at Yugi.

"What?" he asked. "Zira used to be like an older version of me almost. Now she's carrying seven weapons on her. They had something to do with that transformation. I don't like it." He told them.

They were starting to understand now. I mean, what would it take for Yugi to start carrying multiple weapons on him at all times, let alone one? And cue protective instincts. Many in the room had to remind themselves that it was _not_ Yugi who changed, and that no, they _couldn't_ do anything for his sister either.

'We haven't even known her for a day and already we're protective of her as if she were one of us.' Ryou commented to his yami through the link, looking at all the expressions around the room.

'Of course we are. Since she's Little Pharaoh's sister, she _is_ one of us.' Bakura told him.


	9. Chapter 9

Emerald-demoness: Once again the only thing I can say is "Damn writer's block!" and hope it gets better soon. I am so sorry for how long this took.

Chapter eight:

A few days after Zira returned, she got tired of sitting around doing nothing but cleaning up the shop and cooking. With money loaned from Kaiba, she bought a small run-down building near the Gameshop. Even with everyone's help, it took nearly two weeks to fix the place up to her satisfaction. They found out that Joey was surprisingly good at construction jobs.

The windows in the front were big and clear, giving a good view of the inside. The floor was dark hardwood. The walls were a rich, dark red. String instruments decorated the walls. A piano, the same one that had been in Grandpa's shop, sat in the middle of the room.

She opened the shop to teach people to play piano, the violin, or sing, calling it "Apollo's Studio". She had always been interested in Greek history, and even though the sprits were a bit put out about her not finding a nice Egyptian name for it, everyone agreed that it was a fitting name for a music studio.

However nice the name, it didn't help much when it came to customers. Many people walked in, only to walk back out when they saw the scar on her face. It was frustrating to her, and it made everyone else angry on her behalf. There were many, many rants about stupid people not seeing at anything but a person's looks.

She did, however, get a few customers, though one of them did ask her if she was a trouble maker and straight up told her that if that was the case she should find a better way to make money. Zira had laughed and assured him that she was nothing of the sort. The two got along quite well now; she loved hearing about the places he went to when he was a pilot. She was also quite grateful that his grandchildren were well behaved.

After a few weeks, Zira started going to Ryou's house to talk about his split personalities. Everyone knew that going to a therapist was out of the question, what with money problems, Bakura, and the disdain most of them had for therapists in general. So, Zira took it upon herself the help him as much as she could. They had a deal of sorts going on, where they basically traded stories.

Ryou would tell various memories he had of his dad, and she would talk about her captivity. They kept their talks to the lighter stuff at first; like Ryou complaining about how his dad sent him money to pay off the bills, and if he took anymore then his measly monthly allowance out before sending the rest back to his father, he'd know and get pissy. Zira talked about the mild starvation she went through in the beginning. Then the themes of their talks gradually got darker: Ryou's father throwing him down the stairs, breaking his arm, a few ribs, and giving him a concussion. Zira told him about the torture they put her through in return.

Eventually, Ryou told her about the memories he gained from Hope and Affection. Afterwards, she told him her own secret, one she hadn't shared with anyone but Grandpa.

"Yugi and I, we went to live with Grandpa because our parents were arrested for child abuse." She told him, looking down and hugging her knees to her chest.

Ryou's mouth dropped open, and he could feel Bakura's surprise as well. How could anyone abuse Yugi? And if what Yugi said was true, Zira used to be just like him. Why wasn't there any sign, unless . . .

"Yugi doesn't know; Grandpa and I have never had the nerve to tell him. I don't know what he thinks now, but he used to think that they were on a trip, or dead. That's the reason he's so short. Those first, crucial years he only got what he needed to survive, and he had severe malnourishment. I knew what they were doing was wrong, but I didn't mind. Not until Yugi came along. With him came all my big sister instincts, which I didn't understand at the time.

I'm only six years older than him; I didn't know what to do. I'd told the music teacher once, but I looked healthy to him and he didn't believe me. They were smart, and only hit me where my clothes would hide the bruises. I decided that I didn't need help, and that I'd just have to protect Yugi myself. I gave at least half of my food to him, once he was able to eat it. When mom or dad came home drunk, I drew their attention towards me. It seemed to be working, and I was as satisfied as I was going to get, I didn't trust authority figures to help me out anymore.

But then one day, they came home early, before I came home from school. I wasn't there to divert their attention, and I came home to my father hitting my three-year old brother. It was then I realized that I _couldn't_ protect my brother all the time. And I came to the conclusion that we had to get out of there. So the next day, I got my secret stash of money, got Yugi, and left. I didn't have much, but I had a little less than I needed to get to Grandpa's house. So I went as far as I could on the bus, and walked the rest of the way.

Grandpa was furious when he found out, and immediately called the authorities. Apparently accusing your own son of child abuse makes them sit up and take notice. After that we lived with Grandpa. But I've always remembered that I couldn't protect him, and I started to learn how to fight. I started teaching Yugi to use his survival instincts, and the very basics of fighting. But he was always a little softer than me. He wouldn't use the fighting I'd taught him when he was bullied because he didn't want to hurt anybody, even if they had shown that they had no problems with hurting him.

From what Grandpa told me, Yugi pretty much lost the will to live when I disappeared. If it wasn't for Yami, Joey, and Tristan, he would still be letting himself be bullied, not even using the survival instincts I embedded in him. I've failed my brother twice, being too weak to protect him when he was little, and too weak to keep from being kidnapped . . ."

"That is complete bullshit and you know it. How could you be expected to protect your brother from your own _parents_ when you were nine? And you couldn't help being kidnapped." Ryou told her firmly.

"But!" she started, but Ryou interrupted her.

"But nothing! If parents can so completely and utterly _fail_ so often, don't you think it's fair that older siblings get to make some mistakes, or even be unable to help because it was _out of their control_?" he asked her, silently begging that she would just understand.

"Yes, you're right, of course. But that doesn't change the fact that I still feel guilty about it, and nothing anyone says is going to change that." She admitted.

They talked about simple things the rest of the night, not wanting to bring up anymore bad memories.

Zira slowly intergrated herself into the group, and even got along with Kaiba, unless she was announcing to the world that he and Joey were secretly in love with eachother but were too afraid to say it. The rest of the gang joined in on the teasing, much to the two's mortification. Those were the only times that Kaiba and Joey willingly teamed up against someone.

Her meeting with Tea was also amusing. Once Tea screamed at Yugi about not telling her about his sister she announced that she felt sorry for the monkey Tea killed. Marik, Bakura, Tristan, and Joey almost died laughing, hell, even Kaiba chuckled. Tea didn't get it until Ryou said "She does scream like a dying monkey, doesn't she?". She then proceeded to yell at them all and walk of in a huff when they didn't stop.


End file.
